Frieda Pinto, who catapulted to stardom in last year's acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire
, has signed to join director Tarsem Singh's War of the Gods(sometimes referred to as Dawn of War). The film, centered around Greek mythology, features a clash between Theseus(Henry Cavill) and his men against the Titans, who wish to start a war against the gods and reclaim their former throne. The film began production around the same time as Clash of the Titans, a similarly themed epic. Pinto will be starring as Phaedra, an oracle who must assist Theseus in his quest. The film is patterned somewhat after 300
, the fictional retelling of the Spartan battle of Thermopylae, meaning expect tons of graphic violence, CGI, and intense massive battles. Tarsem describes his intentions for the film as "a visual masterpiece done in renaissance painting style action movie", "a bit like Baz Luhrmann doing Romeo + Juliet in Mexico". I don't know what to say about that description except...it fits his style perfectly.
Director Tarsem Singh might not be a familiar name to most people, but he is one of the most visually talented creators working today. He directed the stunning Jennifer Lopez film, The Cell
, back in 2000. His latest film, The Fall, was on my list of best films of 2008. To put it simply, The Fall is like no other film I've seen. It's breathtaking to look at. If he can combine his masterful visual effects work(he also directed parts of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
) with an epic scale action adventure that War of the Gods supposedly is, we could be looking at a masterpiece. I can not wait for this. You can read more of Variety's coverage of this story here.
